Bounce Back from Addiction

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

In the spring of 2016, Henrico County created a Heroin Task Force to evaluate the county’s response to the Heroin/Opioid epidemic. The task force includes the Sheriff, chiefs of Fire and Police, Fire Chief, Police Chief, the executive director of Mental Health and Developmental Services, the Commonwealth’s Attorney, the Health Department director, a deputy county manager, and representatives from the department of Social Services and Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS). In August 2016, the Task Force provided the county manager specific recommendations in the following areas: prevention, treatment, communication, and the criminal justice system. One of the recommendations focused on educating the public about the scope of the opiate problem in Henrico County and providing information about accessing treatment. As a result, Henrico County general government and HCPS collaborated to create the website http://bouncebackhc.com. This site shares information on addiction, statistics from our community on the opioid crisis, recovery stories, and a list of local treatment providers and resources. Since its launch, the site has received over 5,942 unique visitors, and many viewers have referred back multiple times.